Auger conveyor

ABSTRACT

A generally upright auger conveyor is illustrated as part of a beet harvester and includes an endless chain carrying a plurality of paddles which extend into the confines of the helical flight of the auger. Engagement between the paddles and helical flight drives the endless chain so that the paddles are advanced by the helical flight. The paddles prevent material advanced by the helical flight from gravitating down the helical flight and thereby increase the efficiency of the auger conveyor.

1451 Sept. 11,1973

FOREIGN PATENTS 0R APPLICATIONS Primary ExaminerRichard E. AegerterAttorney-H. Vincent Harsha et all [57] ABSTRACT A generally uprightauger conveyor is illustrated as part of a beet harvester and includesan endless chain carrying a plurality of paddles which extend into thecon- AUGER CONVEYOR Inventors: Richard Wayne Hook; Richard David Zaun,both of Des Moines, Iowa Assignee: Deere & Company, Moline, 111.

Filed: Dec. 17, 1971 Appl. No.: 209,116

Int Cl United States Patent Hook et all.

fines of the helical flight of the auger. Engagement between the paddlesand helical flight drives the endless chain so that the paddles areadvanced by the helical flight. The paddles prevent material advanced bythe helical flight from gravitating down the helical flight and therebyincrease the efficiency of the auger conveyor.

20 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures 1 I1 EL I 1 1. U I I HHHHU 8 1 r III 3-- wihiiiiiiiIll I I ll Illlllllll ll u ll n 9 4 o 3 M I 3 1 [51] [58] Fieldof Search...................

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 944,581 12 1909 Stevens.....2,758,728 8/1956 O Patented Sept. 11, 1973 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEYPatentgd Sept. 11, 1973 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 2

INVENTORS R W HOOK R. D. ZAUN ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 11, 1973 3Sheets-Sheet I5 ATTORNEY AUGER CONVEYOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Thepresent invention relates generally to conveyors, and more particularlyrelates to auger conveyors for elevating materials.

Auger conveyors are most efficient when working at or near thehorizontal and have a decrease in efficiency as they approach thevertical since there is insufficient friction between the material andthe auger housing to prevent the material from gravitating down thehelical flight. If an auger conveyor was used at or near the verticalposition, it has always been necessary to force feed the auger conveyorso that the material entering the auger conveyor would prevent othermaterial from gravitating down the helical flight.

The force feeding of an auger conveyor consumes considerable power andwill excessively damage some materials. Therefore, auger conveyors wereseldom used when material was to be elevated substantially vertically.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The principal object of the present inventionis to provide an auger conveyor of increased efficiency when working atan'angleto the horizontal.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an auger conveyorwhich does not require force feeding when working ata substantial angleto the horizontal.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedauger conveyor which includes means to prevent material from gravitatingdown the helical flight of the auger when working at a substantial angleto the horizontal.

harvester indicated generally by the numeral 10. The beet harvester isof the type illustrated in copending U. S. applications Ser. Nos.209,123 and 209,124, both filed concurrently herewith, and includes afront frame member 12, a rear frame member 14, a left side frame member16, front and rear laterally offset right side frame members 18 and 20,an intermediate frame member 22 interconnecting the right side framemembers, and a diagonal brace member 24 extending between the front andrear right side frame members.

The rear portion of the main frame is supported by a pair of wheels 26journaled on the lower end of supports 28 which have their upper endssecured to the A further object of the present invention is to providean auger conveyor which will move frangible materials at a substantialangle to the horizontal without causing excessive damage.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedauger conveyor which includes a plurality of paddles extending betweenspaced apart portions of the auger flight to prevent material fromgravitating down the auger flight'when the auger conveyor is used at asubstantial angle to the horizontal.

The above objects and additional objects and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent, along with the details of constructionof a preferred embodiment of the invention, to those skilled in'the artfrom a reading of the following detailed description when taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. I is a top plan view of a beet harvester embody- DESCRIPTION OF THEPREFERRED EMBODIMENT The auger conveyor according to the presentinvention is illustrated in the drawings as being part of'a beet rearframe member 14 by clamp assemblies 30. The forward end of the mainframe is supported by a forwardly extending hitch 32 which is adapted tobe connected to a tractor drawbar (undisclosed). A pair of supportplates 34 and 36 depend from the leftand right-hand sides, respectively,of the main frame and each is spaced inwardly from its respective framebar. Each of the support plates 34 and 36 is provided with an upperhorizontal flange portion 38 which projects towards the respective sideframe member and is secured thereto in any suitable manner. i

A plurality of digger wheel assemblies are secured to the front framemember 12 in spaced relation to each other andeach includes a pair oflifter wheels 40 and an ejector paddle 42. The lifter wheels 40 aresecured to the front frame member 12 in a manner fully disclosed in theabove-mentioned copending applications and the ejector paddles aremountedon a cross shaft 44 to be driven thereby. A chain'conveyor orpotato chain 46 is carried by the. support plates 34 and 36 :directlybehind the digger wheel assemblies to receive beets from the diggerwheel assemblies and convey the same upwardly and rearwardly.

The upright or vertical auger conveyor according to the presentinvention is supported on the right-hand side of the main frame betweenthe rear frame member 14 and the intermediate frame'member 22, andincludes an elongated cylindrical housing 48. The auger housing 48 isclosed at both ends, but has a laterally directed opening adjacent itslower end as can best be seen in FIG. 2 and a rearwardly directedopening adjacent its upper end. An auger including a core 50 and ahelical flight 52 secured to the core is journaled within the housing toelevate beets from the lower opening in the housing to the upper openingin the housing. The upright or vertical auger conveyor includesadditional structure, but this additional structure will be describedhereinafter since only the basic parts of the vertical auger conveyorare necessary to understand its operation in the beet harvester.

A sheet metal trough 54 extends between the support plate 34 and thelaterally directed opening in the lower portion of the auger housing 48.The end of the trough 54 adjacent the opening in the housing 48 isprovided with a downwardly depending flange 56 which is secured to thebottom wall 49 of the auger housing 48 to provide support for the trough54.

A cross auger having a core 58 and a helical flight 60 secured to thecore is mounted for rotation within the trough 54. One end of the crossauger isjournaled in the support plate 34 and the other end is journaledin a bracket 62 depending from a crossbar 64 which extends between andis secured to the intermediate frame member 22 and the rear frame member14. An arcuate shield 66 directly behind the cross auger extends betweenthe support plate 34 and the auger housing 48 to form a continuation of,the trough for the cross auger. 'lhe trough 54 and cross auger extendlaterally beyond the right side of the potato chain 46 and an arcuateshield 68 directly in front of the cross auger extends between thesupport plate 36 and the housing 48 to form a front continuation of thetrough for the cross auger.

An upper conveyor indicated generally at 70 is secured to the rear ofand adjacent the upper end of the vertical auger conveyor inbeet-receiving relationship to the opening in the upper end of thehousing 48 and includes side walls 72 and 74 and a bottom wall 76. For adescription of how the upper conveyor is supported on the vertical augerconveyor, reference can be had to the above-mentioned copendingapplications Ser. Nos. 209,123 and 209,124. A plurality of rollers 78are journaled between the side walls 72 and 74 and an endless belt orpotato chain 80 is trained about the rollers. A hydraulic motor 82 issecured to the side wall 72 and is connected to one of the rollers 78 todrive the endless belt 80. A pair of hydraulic lines 84 and 86 extendfrom the motor 82 and are adapted to be connected to the conventionalhydraulic system on the tractor to which the beet harvester is coupled.The conveyor 70 extends both laterally inwardly and laterally outwardlyfrom the vertical auger conveyor, but this feature is unimportant as faras the present invention is concerned, but for an understanding of whythe upper conveyor 70 extends in both directions, reference can be hadto the abovementioned copending U. S. application Ser. No. 209,123.

The drive train for the driven components of the harvester, with theexception of the conveyor 70, includes a main drive line 88 which isadapted to have its forward end connected to the conventional powertake-off of the propelling tractor and which has its rearward endsupported in a transfer box 90. A sprocket and chain assembly in thetransfer box 90 transmits power from the main drive line to a gear box92 which drives oppositely extending shafts 94 and 96 inopposite'directions. The shaft 94 is driven in a counterclockwisedirection as viewed from the left, and the shaft 96 is driven in a'clockwise direction as viewed from the left. The shafts 94 and 96project through and are journaled in the support plates 34 and 36 andare covered by a shield 98. A pair of sprocket wheels 100 and 102 arekeyed to the outer end of the shaft 94 and a sprocket wheel 104 is keyedto the outer end of the shaft 96.

The sprocket wheel 100 on the end of the shaft 94 is interconnected witha sprocket wheel 106 on the lefthand end of the shaft 44 for the ejectorpaddles 42 by a chain 108. A drive chain 110 is trained about thesprocket wheel 104 on the shaft 96 and about a sprocket wheel 112 on theupper shaft for the potato chain 46 to drive the potato chain 46.

A drive chain 114 is trained about the sprocket wheel I02 on the outerend of the shaft 94 and about a sprocket wheel 116 on the left-hand endofa cross shaft 1 18. The cross shaft 118 has its left-hand endjournaled in the lower end of the support plate 34 and its righthand endconnected to the input of a'right-angle gear box 120 secured to thebottom wall 49 of the auger housing 48. The output shaft of theright-angle gear box 120 is connected to the lower end of the core 50for the vertical auger.

An additional sprocket wheel (undisclosed) mounted on the left-hand endof the cross shaft 118 is interconnected with a sprocket wheel 122secured to the lefthand end of the core 58 for the cross auger by adrive chain (undisclosed). By having the cross auger and vertical augerdriven from the common shaft 118, the two augers remain properly timedfor efficient transfer of beets from one auger to the other.

To provide shielding for some of the moving parts and to enhance theappearance of the harvester, a cover shield 124 is mounted on the mainframe over the digger wheel assemblies, a cover 126 is mounted on themain frame over the cross auger, and a shield 128 is provided for themain drive line 88.

The operation of the beet harvester above-described is essentially thesame as the operation of the beet harvesters illustrated and describedin the abovementioned copending U. S. applications Ser. Nos. 209,123 and209,124, and reference can be had to these applications for a completeunderstanding of its operation.

The improved auger conveyor according to the present invention isillustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. As can be seen, the auger housing 48 isprovided with an elongated opening 130 which extends from the laterallydirected opening adjacent the lower end thereof upwardly along a portionof the length of the auger conveyor. A generally rectangular secondaryhousing 132 is secured to the auger housing 48 and extends from near thebottom wall of the auger housing to near the upper end of the elongatedopening 130 provided in the auger housing. The secondary housing 132includes a generally U-shaped section 134 which has one of its legssecured to the auger housing 48 near one edge of the opening 130 and aplate portion 136 extending be tween the second leg of the U-shapedportion 134 and the second edge of the elongated opening 130 provided inthe auger housing 48.

A pair of upper and lower shafts 138 are journaled in bearing blocks 140secured to the bight of the U- shaped portion 134 of the secondaryhousing and the plate 136. The bearing blocks 140 are offset from eachother in the direction of the major dimension of the secondary housing132 so that the shafts 138 are positioned at an angle with respect toall four sides of the secondary housing. A pair of sprocket wheels 142are mounted on and keyed to each of the shafts 138 in spaced apartrelationship to each other and a pair of outer and inner chains 144 and146 are trained about the sprocket wheels 142 so that each chainpresents a drive and return flight extending between the upper and lowersprocket wheels.

A plurality of mounting arms 148 are secured to corresponding links ofthe chains 144 and 146 and the mounting arms on each chain are spacedfrom each other a distance equal to the pitch of helical flight 52. Agenerally U-shaped bracket member 150 is positioned between each pair ofcorresponding mounting arms 148 and the legs of each U-shaped bracketare secured to the respective pair of mounting arms 148. The leg 152 ofeach of the brackets 150 which is connected to the mounting arm securedto the chain 144 is shorter than the leg 154 which is connected to themounting arm secured to the chain 146. A plurality of flat, generallyelongated and substantially rigid plate-like paddle members 156 eachhave one end secured to the leg 152 of one of the U-shaped brackets 150and an intermediate portion secured to the corresponding leg 154 of oneof the brackets 150. The paddle members 156 are secured to the legs 152and 154 of the U-shaped bracket members 150 so that when the bracketmembers 150 are on either the return or drive flights of the chains 144and 146, they lie in planes substantially parallel to the axis ofrotation of the auger. The paddles 156 on the drive flight of the chains144 and 146 extend generally parallel to the short sides of thegenerally rectangular-shaped secondary housing 132, through theelongated opening 130 provided in the auger housing 44 and within theconfines of the helical flight 52. Because of the positioning of theshafts 138 and the unequal lengths of the legs 152 and 154 of theU-shaped bracket members 150, the paddle members 156 on the returnflight of the chains 144 and 146 are contained wholly within thesecondary housing 132.

A bracket 158 is secured to each of the paddles 156 and serves to mounta small drive roller 160 which extends slightly below its respectivepaddle member when its respective paddle member is on the drive flightof the chains 144 and 146 so that upon rotation of the auger the leadingface of the helical flight 52 engages the rollers 160 and drives thepaddle members 156 on the drive flight of the chains 144 and 146 in thedirection of material movement through the auger conveyor. The upper endof theelongated'opening 130 is enlarged and curved in the direction ofpaddle movement over the upper sprocket wheels 142 and the plate member136 of the secondary housing 132 terminates short of the ends of thesecondary housing so the paddle members 156 can make the transition fromthe auger housing 48 to the secondary housing 132 as they move over theupper sprockets 142 and from the secondary housing 132 to the augerhousing 48 as they move under the lower sprocket wheels 142.

The pitch of the bottommost portion of the flight 52 is greater than thepitch of the rest of the flight and the pitch of the flight in the areajust prior to the area where the paddles leave the housing is slightlyless than the pitch of the majority of the flight to prevent any bindingor interference between the paddles and flight as the paddles make thetransition between the auger housing and secondary housing.

By having the two chains 144 and 146 guided by the timed sprocketwheels, the sprocket wheels being keyed to their respective shafts 138,and by securing each of the paddle members 156 to both chains 144 and148 through the legs 152 and 154 of the U-shaped bracket members 150,the resistance of the paddles and chains to being driven by the leadingface of the helical flight 52 will not b able to deflect the outer endof the paddle members 156 on the drive flights of the chains 144 and 146in the direction of material movement through the auger housing.

The tendency of the material or beets in the auger housing 48 to travelaround the housing 48 with the helical flight 52 and also the tendencyof the material to gravitate down the helical flight will provide asubstantial force against each of the paddle members 156 on the driveflights of the chains 144 and 146, but this force is taken up by a pairof thrust rollers 162. A shaft I64 extends through each pair of mountingarms 148 and a pair of the thrust rollers 162 are mounted on the ends ofeach shaft 164. A pair of tracks 166 and 168 for the thrust rollers 162are mounted on the leg of the U-shaped portion of the housing 132 whichis secured to the auger housing 48 and on the plate member 136 of thehousing 132, respectively, so that the rollers 162 for the paddlemembers 156 on the drive flight of the chains 144 and 146 engage andmove along the tracks 166 and 168 and resist any twisting movement ofthe paddles 156 which would be caused by the force of the materialagainst the paddles 156.

The operation of the auger conveyor according to the present inventionis substantially as follows. As beets are moved from the trough 54 intothe opening provided in the lower end of the housing 48-by the crossauger, they will be picked up by the flight 52 on the vertical auger.Since the auger housing 48 is substantially vertical there will belittle resistance to movement of the beet around the housing 48 with thehelical flight 52. However, as the beets move around the housing 48,they will contact and their movement about the housing 48 will bestopped by a paddle member 156 as it moves around the lower sprocketwheels 142 onto the drive flight of the chains 144 and 146. Since thebeets can no longer move around the housing 48, they will slide upwardlyalong a leading face of the helical flight 52 to the upper dischargeopening in the housing 48. Since the elongated slot provided in thehousing 48 does not extend to the top of the housing 48, the upperportion of the housing 48 will be completely smooth with the exceptionof the discharge opening and therefore, as the conventional dischargepaddle (undisclosed) at the upper end of the auger sweeps the materialin the upper end of the housing about the housing wall to the dischargeopening, the material will not be chewed up by any projections ordisruptions in the auger housing.

Since the paddle members 156 extend at an angle with respect to the axisof rotation of the sprocket wheels 142 and since they also exit from theauger housing 48 in the general direction of rotation of the auger, theyhave an accelerated movement away-from the material so that they willnot cause a plugging condition in the auger conveyor at their point ofexit.

From the foregoing description of a preferred embodiment of theinvention and from the illustrations, it can be seen that the presentinvention provides an improved auger conveyor which is more efficientthan previous auger conveyors and which will effectively convey materialsubstantially vertically without requiring force feeding.

Although only a single preferred embodiment of the invention has beendescribed and illustrated, various modifications within the spirit andscope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the artand can be made without departing from the underlying principles of theinvention. Therefore, the invention should not be limited by thespecific illustration and description but only by the following claims.

We claim:

1. Material conveying apparatus comprising: a rotatable auger inclinedto the horizontal including an elongated core and a helical flightencircling and secured to the core; an elongated housing surrounding theauger; a pair of roller means mounted on the housing in spaced apartrelationship along the length of the housing; endless flexible meanstrained about the roller means to present a pair of flights extendingbetween the roller means; a plurality of paddles having opposite edgesand a working side extending between the edges; and means securing thepaddles to the endless flexible means for movement therewith anddisposing at least a portion of the paddles on one flight of the endlessflexible means within the confines of the helical flight with theopposite edges of each generally facing axiallyspaced portions of thehelical flight and the working side of each facing generally opposite tothe direction of rotation of the auger to engage and prevent material onthe flighting from gravitating on the helical flighting.

2. Apparatus as set forth in claim I wherein the roller means andendless flexible means are mounted exteriorly of the housing, thehousing isprovided with a longitudinal opening, and the paddles on theone flight of the endless flexible means extend through the openingprovided in the housing.

3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein an elongated housing forthe endless flexible means is mounted on the exterior of the augerhousing; the roller means are journaled in the housing for the endlessflexible means adjacent the ends thereof, and the housing for theendless flexible means is provided with an elongated opening alignedwith the opening in the auger housing.

4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 3 wherein each of said roller meansincludes a pair of spaced sprocket wheels fixed to a common shaft, theendless flexible means includes a pair of chains trained about thesprocket wheels, and each of the paddles has one end rigidlyinterconnected with one of the chains and an intermediate portionrigidly interconnected with the other of the chains.

5. Apparatus as set forth in claim 4 wherein each of the paddles isrigidly interconnected with the pair of chains by a bracket secured tothe pair of chains and including a pair of legs projecting in planesparallel to the planes of the chains, the legs of each bracket are ofunequal length, the one end of each paddle is connected to the shorterof the pair of legs of the respective bracket and the intermediateportion of each paddle is connected to the longer of the pair of legs ofthe respective bracket.

6. Apparatus as set forth in claim 5 wherein a pair of rollers arecarried by each bracket and a pair of roller tracks are mounted in thehousing for the endless flexible means to be engaged by the rollerscarried by the brackets on the one flight of the endless flexible means.

7. Material conveying apparatus comprising: a rotat able auger inclinedto the horizontal including an elongated core and a helical flightencircling and secured to the core and having axially-spaced portions;an elongated housing surrounding the auger; a pair of roller meansmounted on the housing in spaced apart relation along the length of thehousing; endless flexible means trained about the roller means topresent drive and return flights extending between the roller means; aplurality of paddle members having opposite edges and a working sideextending between the edges; and means securing the paddle members tothe endless flexible means and disposing at least a portion of each ofthe paddle members on the drive flight of the endless flexible meansbetween a pair of the axially-spaced portions of the helical flight withthe opposite edges generally facing axially-spaced portions of thehelical flight and the working side facing generally opposite to thedirection of rotation of the auger to engage and prevent material on theflighting from gravitating on the helical flighting.

8. Material conveying apparatus as set forth in claim 7 whereincorresponding portions of adjacent paddle members are spaced apart adistance equal to corresponding surfaces of the axially spaced portionsof the helical flight whereby the axially spaced portions of the helicalflight will engage the paddle members on the drive flight of the endlessflexible means upon rotation of the auger to drive the paddle membersand endless flexible means.

9. Material conveying apparatus as set forth in claim 8 wherein each ofthe paddle members includes a drive roller positioned to move along thesurface of the helical flight.

10. Material conveying apparatus as set forth in claim 7 wherein theroller means and endless flexible means are mounted exteriorly of theauger housing, the auger housing is provided with an elongated openingextending generally parallel to the axis of rotation of the auger, andthe paddle members on the drive flight of the endless flexible meansextends through the elongated opening in the auger housing and generallytoward the center of the auger.

1 1. Material conveying apparatus as set forth in claim 10 wherein anelongated housing for the endless flexible means is secured to theexterior of the auger housing and is provided with an elongated openingin alignment with the elongated opening provided in the auger housing,and the roller means are journaled in the housing for the endlessflexible means adjacent the opposite ends thereof.

12. Material conveying apparatus as set forth in claim 11 wherein eachof the roller means includes a pair of sprocket wheels secured to acommon shaft journaled in the housing for the endless flexible means,the endless flexible means includes a pair of chains trained about thesprocket wheels, each of the paddle members is a flat elongated paddlemember having one end rigidly interconnected to one of the chains of thepair of chains, an intermediate portion rigidly interconnected to asecond of the chains of the pair of chains, and a second end projectingaway from the chains, and corresponding portions of adjacent paddlemembers are spaced apart a distance equal to corresponding surfaces ofthe axially-spaced portions of the helical flight whereby theaxially-spaced portions of the helical flight will engage the paddlemembers on the drive flight of the endless flexible means upon rotationof the auger to drive the paddle members and the endless flexible means,and, as the spaced apart portions of the helical flight engage thepaddle members on the drive flight of the endless flexible means todrive the paddle members and endless flexible means, the pair of chainscounteract the forces exerted on the paddle members by the spaced apartportions of the helical flight to maintain the paddle members properlyoriented.

13. Material conveying apparatus as set forth in claim 12 wherein eachof the paddle members further includes a drive roller secured to itsrespective paddle member in position to engage and move along thehelical flight when its respective paddle member is on the drive flightof the endless flexible means.

14. Material conveying apparatus as set forth in claim 12 wherein eachof the paddle members is secured to the chains through a bracket havinga pair of legs of unequal lengths, the long leg of the bracket issecured to the one of the chains and the short leg of the bracket issecured to the second of the chains whereby each of the paddle membersextends outwardly at an angle to a plane formed by the respectiveflights of the pair of chains, the housing for the endless flexiblemeans is rectangular-shaped in cross section and the elongated openingprovided therein is adjacent one corner thereof, and the shafts for thesprocket wheels have opposite ends journaled on opposite walls of thehousing for the endless flexible means in non-perpendicular relationshiptherewith so that the paddle members on the drive flights of the chainslie in a plane perpendicular to one end wall of the housing for theendless flexible means and project through the elongated openingsprovided in the two housings and the paddle members on the returnflights of the chains extend into a corner of the housing for theendless flexible means.

15. Apparatus as set forth in claim 14 wherein each of the bracketscarries a pair of guide rollers on its pair of legs, and a pair oftracks for the rollers on the drive flight of the endless flexible meansare mounted in the housing for the endless flexible means.

16. Material conveying apparatus comprising: an elongated circularhousing adapted to be positioned'at an angle with respect to thehorizontal; an auger journaled in the housing including a core and ahelical flight secured to the core; the helical flight having acontinuous leading material-engaging face having axially alignedportions spaced equal distances apart; a pair of roller means mountedexteriorly of the housing in spaced apart relationship along the lengthof the housing; endless flexible means trained about the roller means topresent drive and return flights extending between the roller means; aplurality of paddle means each including a flat paddle member; meanssecuring the paddle means to the endless flexible means in positions tohave corresponding portions of adjacent paddle members spaced apart adistance equal to the axial spacing between the axially aligned portionsof the helical flight and disposing each of the paddle members to haveits sides lie in planes generally parallel to the axis of rotation'ofthe auger when on the drive and return flights of the endless flexiblemeans and when on the drive flight to extend through an elongatedopening provided in the housing and between the axially-spaced portionsof the helical flight whereby upon rotation of the auger, the paddlemembers on the drive flight of the endless flexible means will beengaged and driven in the direction of material movement and a workingside of each will engage and prevent material being elevated on theleading face of the helical flight from gravitating on the continuousleading face of the helical flight.

17. Apparatus as set forth in claim 16 wherein each of the pair ofroller means includes a pair of sprocket wheels mounted on a commonshaft and operatively interconnected with each other for uniformrotation, the endless flexible means includes a pair of chains, and

each of the paddlemembers is rigidly secured to both chains.

18. Apparatus as set forth in claim 17 wherein each of the paddlemembers has one end secured to one of the chains and an intermediateportion secured to a second of the chains, and a drive roller mountedthereon to engage and roll along the leading face of the helical flightupon rotation of the auger.

19. Apparatus as set forth in claim 18 wherein each of the paddlemembers is secured to the pair of chains by bracket means including apair of legs secured to the chains, a pair of thrust rollers are mountedon the pair of legs, a secondary elongated housing is secured to theexterior of the auger housing and is provided with an elongated openingwhich registers with the elongated opening provided in the augerhousing, the shafts for the sprocket wheels are mounted in the secondaryhousing adjacent the ends thereof, and a pair of thrust tracks aremounted in the secondary housing for engagement with the thrust rollerson the drive flights on the chains whereby engagement between the thrusttracks and thrust rollers prevents the force of material against thepaddle members from moving the paddle members out of their normalplanes.

,20. Apparatus as set forth in claim 19 wherein the legs of each bracketmeans are of unequal lengths so that the paddle members on the drive andreturn flights of the chains lie in planes which converge away from theauger.

1. Material conveying apparatus comprising: a rotatable auger inclinedto the horizontal including an elongated core and a helical flightencircling and secured to the core; an elongated housing surrounding theauger; a pair of roller means mounted on the housing in spaced apartrelationship along the length of the housing; endless flexible meanstrained about the roller means to present a pair of flights extendingbetween the roller means; a plurality of paddles having opposite edgesand a working side extending between the edges; and means securing thepaddles to the endless flexible means for movement therewith anddisposing at least a portion of the paddles on one flight of the endlessflexible means within the confines of the helical flight with theopposite edges of each generally facing axially-spaced portions of thehelical flight and the working side of each facing generally opposite tothe direction of rotation of the auger to engage and prevent material onthe flighting from gravitating on the helical flighting.
 2. Apparatus asset forth in claim 1 wherein the roller means and endless flexible meansare mounted exteriorly of the housing, the housing is provided with alongitudinal opening, and the paddles on the one flight of the endlessflexible means extend through the opening provided in the housing. 3.Apparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein an elongated housing for theendless flexible means is mounted on the exterior of the auger housing;the roller means are journaled in the housing for the endless flexiblemeans adjacent the ends thereof, and the housing for the endlessflexible means is provided with an elongated opening aligned with theopening in the auger housing.
 4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 3wherein each of said roller means includes a pair of spaced sprocketwheels fixed to a common shaft, the endless flexible means includes apair of chains trained about the sprocket wheels, and each of thepaddles has one end rigidly interconnected with one of the chains and anintermediate portion rigidly interconnected with the other of thechains.
 5. Apparatus as set forth in claim 4 wherein each of the paddlesis rigidly interconnected with the pair of chains by a bracket securedto the pair of chains and including a pair of legs projecting in planesparallel to the planes of the chains, the legs of each bracket are ofunequal length, the one end of each paddle is connected to the shorterof the pair of legs of the respective bracket and the intermediateportion of each paddle is connected to the longer of the pair of legs ofthe respective bracket.
 6. Apparatus as set forth in claim 5 wherein apair of rollers are carried by each bracket and a pair of roller tracksare mounted in the housing for the endless flexible means to be engagedby the rollers carried by the brackets on the one flight of the endlessflexible means.
 7. Material conveying apparatus comprising: a rotatableauger inclined to the horizontal including an elongated core and ahelical flight encircling and secured to the core and havingaxially-spaced portions; an elongated housing surrounding the auger; apair of roller means mounted on the housing in spaced apart relationalong the length of the housing; endless flexible means trained aboutthe roller means to present drive and return flights extending betweenthe roller means; a plurality of paddle members having opposite edgesand a working side extending between the edges; and means securing thepaddle members to the endless flexible means and disposing at least aportion of each of the paddle members on the drive flight of the endlessflexible means between a pair of the axially-spaced portions of thehelical flight with the opposite edges generally facing axially-spacedportions of the helical flight and the working side facing generallyopposite to the direction of rotation of the auger to engage and preventmaterial on the flighting from gravitating on the helical flighting. 8.Material conveying apparatus as set forth in claim 7 whereincorresponding portions of adjacent paddle members are spaced apart adistance equal to corresponding surfaces of the axially spaced portionsof the helical flight whereby the axially spaced portions of the helicalflight will engage the paddle members on the drive flight of the endlessflexible means upon rotation of the auger to drive the paddle membersand endless flexible means.
 9. Material conveying apparatus as set forthin claim 8 wherein each of the paddle members includes a drive rollerpositioned to move along the surface of the helical flight.
 10. Materialconveying apparatus as set forth in claim 7 wherein the roller means andendless flexible means are mounted exteriorly of the auger housing, theauger housing is provided with an elongated opening extending generallyparallel to the axis of rotation of the auger, and the paddle members onthe drive flight of the endless flexible means extends through theelongated opening in the auger housing and generally toward the centerof the auger.
 11. Material conveying apparatus as set forth in claim 10wherein an elongated housing for the endless flexible means is securedto the exterior of the auger housing and is provided with an elongatedopening in alignment with the elongated opening provided in the augerhousing, and the roller means are journaled in the housing for theendless flexible means adjacent the opposite ends thereof.
 12. Materialconveying apparatus as set forth in claim 11 wherein each of the rollermeans includes a pair of sprocket wheels secured to a common shaftjournaled in the housing for the endless flexible means, the endlessflexible means includes a pair of chains trained about the sprocketwheels, each of the paddle members is a flat elongated paddle memberhaving one end rigidly interconnected to one of the chains of the pairof chains, an intermediate portion rigidly interconnected to a second ofthe chains of the pair of chains, and a second end projecting away fromthe chains, and corresponding portions of adjacent paddle members arespaced apart a distance equal to corresponding surfaces of theaxially-spaced portions of the helical flight whereby the axially-spacedportions of the helical flight will engage the paddle members on thedrive flight of the endless flexible means upon rotation of the auger todrive the paddle members and the endless flexible means, and, as thespaced apart portions of the helical flight engage the paddle members onthe drive flight of the endless flexible means to drive the paddlemembers and endless flexible means, the pair of chains counteract theforces exerted on the paddle members by the spaced apart portions of thehelical flight to maintain the paddle members properly oriented. 13.Material conveying apparatus as set forth in claim 12 wherein each ofthe paddle members further includes a drive roller secured to itsrespective paddle member in position to engage and move along thehelical flight when its respective paddle member is on the drive flightof the endless flexible means.
 14. Material conveying apparatus as setforth in claim 12 wherein each of the paddle members is secured to thechains through a bracket having a pair of legs of unequal lengths, thelong leg of the bracket is secured to the one of the chains and theshort leg of the bracket is secured to the second of the chaIns wherebyeach of the paddle members extends outwardly at an angle to a planeformed by the respective flights of the pair of chains, the housing forthe endless flexible means is rectangular-shaped in cross section andthe elongated opening provided therein is adjacent one corner thereof,and the shafts for the sprocket wheels have opposite ends journaled onopposite walls of the housing for the endless flexible means innon-perpendicular relationship therewith so that the paddle members onthe drive flights of the chains lie in a plane perpendicular to one endwall of the housing for the endless flexible means and project throughthe elongated openings provided in the two housings and the paddlemembers on the return flights of the chains extend into a corner of thehousing for the endless flexible means.
 15. Apparatus as set forth inclaim 14 wherein each of the brackets carries a pair of guide rollers onits pair of legs, and a pair of tracks for the rollers on the driveflight of the endless flexible means are mounted in the housing for theendless flexible means.
 16. Material conveying apparatus comprising: anelongated circular housing adapted to be positioned at an angle withrespect to the horizontal; an auger journaled in the housing including acore and a helical flight secured to the core; the helical flight havinga continuous leading material-engaging face having axially alignedportions spaced equal distances apart; a pair of roller means mountedexteriorly of the housing in spaced apart relationship along the lengthof the housing; endless flexible means trained about the roller means topresent drive and return flights extending between the roller means; aplurality of paddle means each including a flat paddle member; meanssecuring the paddle means to the endless flexible means in positions tohave corresponding portions of adjacent paddle members spaced apart adistance equal to the axial spacing between the axially aligned portionsof the helical flight and disposing each of the paddle members to haveits sides lie in planes generally parallel to the axis of rotation ofthe auger when on the drive and return flights of the endless flexiblemeans and when on the drive flight to extend through an elongatedopening provided in the housing and between the axially-spaced portionsof the helical flight whereby upon rotation of the auger, the paddlemembers on the drive flight of the endless flexible means will beengaged and driven in the direction of material movement and a workingside of each will engage and prevent material being elevated on theleading face of the helical flight from gravitating on the continuousleading face of the helical flight.
 17. Apparatus as set forth in claim16 wherein each of the pair of roller means includes a pair of sprocketwheels mounted on a common shaft and operatively interconnected witheach other for uniform rotation, the endless flexible means includes apair of chains, and each of the paddle members is rigidly secured toboth chains.
 18. Apparatus as set forth in claim 17 wherein each of thepaddle members has one end secured to one of the chains and anintermediate portion secured to a second of the chains, and a driveroller mounted thereon to engage and roll along the leading face of thehelical flight upon rotation of the auger.
 19. Apparatus as set forth inclaim 18 wherein each of the paddle members is secured to the pair ofchains by bracket means including a pair of legs secured to the chains,a pair of thrust rollers are mounted on the pair of legs, a secondaryelongated housing is secured to the exterior of the auger housing and isprovided with an elongated opening which registers with the elongatedopening provided in the auger housing, the shafts for the sprocketwheels are mounted in the secondary housing adjacent the ends thereof,and a pair of thrust tracks are mounted in the secondary housing forengagement with the thrust rollers on the drive flights on the chainswhereby engagement between the thrust tracks and thrust rollers preventsthe force of material against the paddle members from moving the paddlemembers out of their normal planes.
 20. Apparatus as set forth in claim19 wherein the legs of each bracket means are of unequal lengths so thatthe paddle members on the drive and return flights of the chains lie inplanes which converge away from the auger.